The investigating judge at the Ancona court ordered eight people remanded in custody, and five more face a preventive interrogation, out of 51 people under investigation.
The judge ordered the seizure of assets and financial holdings worth more than 57 million euros linked to the alleged scheme.
Investigators allege aggravated fraud over public grants for private quake reconstruction, with work subcontracted to groups tied to Calabrian and Campanian organised crime, and corruption in public tenders.
Searches and document acquisitions were run in 13 provinces, from Ancona and Macerata to Napoli and Reggio Calabria, with about 230 Guardia di Finanza members involved.
Financial police in Ancona have carried out an operation called 'Ricostruzione' (Reconstruction) into an alleged illegal system in contracts linked to rebuilding after the 2016 earthquake in central Italy. The inquiry is coordinated by the anti-mafia directorate (DDA) of the Ancona prosecutor's office and carried out by the economic and financial police unit of the Guardia di Finanza in Ancona. It covers two areas: private reconstruction work financed with public money, and public tenders issued by the Marche regional government, by Erdis Marche and by the University of Camerino. Investigators describe the case as several separate strands rather than one single scheme.
Eight people have been remanded in custody, a precautionary measure ordered by the investigating judge of the Ancona court rather than a verdict. Five more people face a preventive interrogation, a step taken before any decision on measures against them. In total 51 people are under investigation. The judge also ordered the seizure of assets and financial holdings worth more than 57 million euros. According to the reports, the suspects are accused of aggravated fraud, infiltration by mafia-type organised crime and corruption. The reports do not say whether any official of the regional government, the regional agency or the university is among the 51 people under investigation.
Data from the article text
The first strand concerns alleged aggravated fraud to obtain public grants for private rebuilding in the areas hit by the quake. Investigators say those grants were meant for the recovery of buildings damaged by the earthquake. According to the same account, part of the works was subcontracted to companies or people linked to Calabrian and Campanian organised crime. The second strand concerns alleged corruption, in which public officials and entrepreneurs are suspected of acting together in awarding public contracts. Investigators place the relationships between businessmen and officials at the centre of those award procedures. Both strands remain allegations under investigation.
Authorities carried out more than 50 searches and document acquisitions in 13 provinces: Ancona, Macerata, Pesaro-Urbino, Fermo, Roma, Caserta, Napoli, Reggio Calabria, Modena, Terni, Chieti, Treviso and Piacenza. About 230 members of the Guardia di Finanza took part in the operation. The morning reports describe the searches as still under way. A press conference is scheduled for 15:00 on 22 October at the provincial command of the Guardia di Finanza in Ancona, with prosecutor Monica Garulli attending. The conference is expected to give further details of the operation.
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Financial police in Ancona arrested eight people and seized more than 57 million euros in assets in an anti-mafia probe into contracts tied to rebuilding after the 2016 earthquake.
AI text based on reports by AGI, Rai news, ANSA.it and other publishers. Published .